Overview of Townsville businesses to open and close in the first half of 2024
It’s been busy 2024 with an assortment of businesses springing up in Townsville including cafes, restaurants, tools, toys, gardening, timber, campers, discount retailers, and a fudge shop. Read the full list.
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In a promising sign for Townsville’s future, numerous new business ventures have sprung up around the city over the first half of 2024.
From the staged rollout of Australia’s largest hotel, to cafes, restaurants, accommodation, tools, toys, gardening, timber, off road campers, discount retailers, and a fudge shop, there’s been plenty of enterprising business people willing to put themselves out there and invest in the city.
Unfortunately a few businesses have also fallen by the wayside.
Check out our full business recap below.
Twin City Hotel’s Downtown Bar and Kitchen and Herveys Cafe
Twin City Hotel, Townsville’s contender for Australia’s largest pub, hit another exciting milestone after opening its second stage in June – the state-of-the-art, sports-focused Downtown Bar and Kitchen.
Seating 120, both indoors and outside, Herveys Cafe and Lounge Bar, began serving a wide variety of cafe fare, including a delicious bagel menu, from late January.
Twin City Hotel general manager Chris McNeill said they had a good team assembled and were excited to reveal their “big sports bar” alongside a relaxed, family, “bistro a la carte vibe”.
“In the Downtown Bar and Kitchen, we’ve got the TAB, the beer garden, which is still just in the finishing stages, nice sprawling bar seats, booths and then a bistro setting as well,” he said.
With seating for 120 inside and another 100 in its beer garden, Mr McNeill couldn’t wait for visitors to witness their state-of-the-art audio visual system, featuring “one of the biggest LEDs on this side of town”, along with an array of massive 85 inch screens, and private TVs in the booth section.
Offering a broad range of toys including some never seen before in North Queensland, Totally Toys completed the missing piece in its regional expansion after opening in Townsville in June.
With its motto “Play all day”, family-owned business Totally Toys was founded in Rockhampton eight years ago, before expanding to Mackay, Cairns, and now at Townsville’s Fairfield & Co Centre.
The independent retailer stocks a diverse inventory, from classic favourites like Lego, Barbie and Hot Wheels, to the latest and on-trend toys, including electric ride-ons, Crazy Skates, and Sluban Blocks military building blocks.
Totally Toys co-owner Dennis Boyce said they had been trying to bring their massive range to Townsville for the last five years.
“We do 24V ride-on cars with parental controls, every sort of doll and big plush teddy bears … Pink Poppy children’s jewellery … right down to your $2 bouncing balls,” Mr Boyce said.
“We put in a pick and mix lolly bar. It has 92 varieties of different candies and lollies and also offer a trampoline brand called Vuly, that wouldn’t have been in any toy retailers in Townsville.”
Lured by the prospect of sampling over 20 flavours of mouth-watering fudge, a stampede of sweet tooths swept through the door of Townsville’s newly opened shop, FudgeVille.
Situated at 112a Charters Towers Road, Hermit Park, FudgeVille hosted its grand opening celebrations in early June, where hundreds of visitors tantalised their tastebuds with specialty handmade fudge, curated selection of lollies, chocolates, and marvelled at the locally produced dessert themed bath products and homewares on display.
FudgeVille realises the creative vision of Townsville couple and co-owners Dave and Katie Tilson, whose first date was to a chocolate shop in Daylesford, Victoria, 20 years ago.
“We’ve got access to around about 400 recipes for different types of fudge and we’re also making up our own as we go along,” Mr Tilson said.
“At the moment we’ve got about 28 different flavours of fudge and nougat that we’re experimenting with, and we can also expand that to some seasonal things throughout the year.”
The Spirited Goat ‘The Strand’
Big changes are afoot for the popular Townsville cafe The Spirited Goat, which has expanded into a second location on The Strand, with plans revealed to operate as restaurants serving dinner at both locations from May 28.
Otto’s Fresh Food Market owner and The Spirited Goat partner Don Peel revealed that the business had signed a five-year lease on a prominent waterfront retail space on the ground floor at 62 The Strand – formerly held by California Tacos.
Excited about the new hospitality project, which will provide another airconditioned sanctuary for The Strand during Townsville’s hotter months, Mr Peel said they had spent around $1m on a complete refit, transforming the space to give it a “modern, art-deco, boho vibe”.
“(It has a) funky and bohemian style, with cushions, soft, muted colours and light funky stuff, but it’s also got an art deco brass and a fluted glass theme that runs through it,” Mr Peel said.
“The food that we do over at The Precinct Goat will come across, we’re going to have some great special offerings and more seafood orientated offerings down at the beach.”
The new owners of Strand venue Anelay Rooftop Bar and Restaurant revealed in June that it would be known as The Beach Hotel, a name better suited to its coastal location and renovated interior.
Opened in late 2021 at 70 The Strand, the beachside venue was confirmed to be purchased by Kickon Group in early June, a prominent player in Australia’s hospitality industry which also operates the nearby Watermark Townsville.
In advance of its reopening in early July, extensive renovations were underway to reimagine the venue by reorienting the bar and kitchen, creating more space on both levels, and embracing a fresh pastel colour scheme.
The Beach Hotel manager and part owner Bart Furst wanted the upgraded venue to become the ultimate spot to catch up with friends, enjoy a meal with the family, or take in the endless views with a drink in hand.
Diners should expect a focus on quality and creativity throughout The Beach Hotel’s menu, which will feature innovative pub classics and mouth-watering dishes.
Nestled in the Woodlands Shopping Centre, Sticks & Grinds Cafe was welcomed back by locals earlier this year, thanks to its unique blend of family-operated charm and a strong sense of community.
Former radio host turned venue manager Jamie Wall embarked on this new venture in February, transforming his passion for hospitality into a family-run cafe.
Despite facing a work injury during the initial phase, Jamie’s family stepped up to make the dream a reality.
“Bless my family for literally stepping up and taking the reins and putting together what they could with what they knew,” Mr Wall said.
Jamie’s partner Jackie, eldest son Ethan, and second eldest daughter Mikayla were instrumental in launching the cafe, while the younger children often contribute by sweeping floors, wiping tables, and handling dishes.
A standout feature of the cafe is its pay-it-forward board, a gesture that has brought smiles to many faces and even moved some customers to tears.
Belmoral Corporate Suites and Levanti
The radical multimillion-dollar transformation of a building on Palmer Street has created an exciting new option for business travellers seeking up-market accommodation with cutting-edge technology, and fine dining.
Urbancom managing director George Daoud purchased the building at 79 Palmer St, which previously hosted Masala Indian Restaurant and Adventurers Backpackers Resort, before embarking on a large-scale upgrade where the total investment has exceeded $10m.
Opened in March, the 75-room Belmoral Corporate Suites bolsters Townsville’s accommodation availability while targeting the adults-only business and corporate traveller market.
“They come with the latest and greatest in technology. There’s smartphone access so if you make a booking or reservation online, you get sent a key to your phone (which) becomes your key to the hotel room,” Mr Daoud said.
While they put the finishing touches on high-end Mediterranean restaurant Levanti, which was expected to open mid year, Mr Daoud said their Waterfront Cafe was attracting a growing number of diners with the smell of their breakfasts and popular Campos Coffee.
If you’ve got a hankering for slow-cooked ribs or maybe a juicy steak, Lone Star Rib House is riding to your rescue, throwing open its saloon doors at the corner of Palmer and Dibbs St, South Townsville in mid-April.
Featuring wooden cowboy decor and buckets of free peanuts with shells you can throw on the floor, Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon was a Texan-style saloon themed franchise that spread throughout Australia during the 1990s, including Townsville, before fading away during the 2000s.
Since purchasing the rights for the franchise four years ago, Gold Coast-based chief executive Kim Gerry has revived the chain under the new name Lone Star Rib House, harnessing Australia’s nostalgia and love for southern-style cooking to open 23 stores around the country.
“We’re conscious of the dollar spend for families these days so in all of our stores, kids eat free in the school holidays,” Mr Gerry said.
Authentic flavours from the Mediterranean and Middle East have made a welcome return to Townsville after beloved restaurant Balabite officially reopened, years after its untimely closure.
With its homemade dishes bursting with a “mosaic of flavours”, Balabite’s casual street food struck a chord with foodies when it opened in 2019 before closing due to pandemic restrictions in October 2021.
After focusing on their other businesses and waiting for the right time to revive Balabite, Ms Kvatinsky said they secured a larger space in the North Ward Shopping Village Centre, just a “few steps from the original location”.
The revitalised business features a larger indoor and outdoor dining area, along with a pita, hot meal, baking, and deli sections.
Open from brunch through to dinner, she said diners would be able to grab traditional favourites like hummus bowls, freshly made pitas or try their special of the day from the hot meal station.
After several decades, a family-owned timber wholesaler has returned to Townsville, bringing with it a product range to support the industry.
The Australian-owned Tilling Group established a presence in Townsville in the late 1980s, where they imported solid timber products like Douglas fir from the United States.
Tilling made the decision to relocate its business to Melbourne and shift focus towards
Engineered wood products (EWPs) – a class of building products and materials are fabricated from raw wood, combined with resins or adhesives, that look and act like wood but are designed to be stronger, more reliable and durable.
The company has grown to become the country’s largest wholesaler of engineered wood products.
Tilling Timber Townsville territory manager Rita Fisher said Townsville was selected as one of the first locations for an ambitious regional expansion.
“They’ve identified Townsville as an area that’s going to grow quickly once building starts picking up again,” Ms Fisher said.
National Heavy Vehicle Regulator
There’s been a changing of the guard for oversight of the state’s heavy vehicles, with a new regulator ramping up its presence on NQ’s roads after opening a custom-built building in Bohle.
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) was established in 2013 to become Australia’s single, independent national regulator of heavy vehicles, applying and enforcing the Heavy Vehicle National Law – a single rule book for heavy vehicles.
NHVR chief executive Sal Petroccitto opened their brand-new Northern Region operational head office at 30 Kelli Street, Mount Saint John in June.
For locals it means a stronger presence of NHVR on-road officers across the region, whose responsibilities range from on-road monitoring of load restraint, mass and dimensions, work diaries and driver fatigue, to checking the compliance of the transportation of dangerous goods.
From July 1, programmed heavy vehicle inspections will be delivered from the facility’s pit area instead of the TMR vehicle inspection centre at Leyland Street Garbutt.
A New South Wales couple is living the dream following their sea change to Magnetic Island to open a restaurant, which is creating a stir with locals and tourists alike.
Situated in Picnic Bay’s Sea Salt Arcade on the Esplanade, Restaurant Elsie was opened in April by co-owners Tally Argent and Laura Downton, after they relocated earlier this year.
With fond memories of visiting the island during her childhood, Ms Argent said they jumped at the opportunity to launch a restaurant in the space after spotting an advertisement on Instagram.
Seating 40 diners in a casual setting, Restaurant Elsie offers a modern Australian menu, featuring “lots of snacks and share plates” to “share with your nearest and dearest”.
Ms Argent said residents had welcomed them with open arms, pleased to see the space revived after previously being occupied by a hairdresser and Chinese restaurant.
Envious about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence, a growing number of North Queensland “fanatics” are looking to lift their lawns to the next level.
To cater to this growing niche of grass lovers, locally-owned premium lawn and garden care retail store Envy Lawn Garden Legend opened its doors in April at 336-342 Ingham Rd, Garbutt.
The inaugural concept store offers an immersive destination for lawn and garden enthusiasts, providing expert advice, premium products, and unparalleled service.
From commercial-grade fertilisers and herbicides to battery powered equipment and maintenance tools, Envy ensures that every aspect of lawn and garden care is covered.
At the helm of Envy is Zac Holm, a Townsville Golf Course greenkeeper turned store manager, who brings a wealth of expertise and passion for outdoor spaces.
Mr Holm said they catered for “lawn fanatics”, along with those wanting to take lawn care more seriously, often inspired by a neighbour’s lawn.
North Queensland fans of Japanese cuisine are in for a treat after plans were revealed for an innovative diner to open at Fairfield Central Shopping Centre.
Meaning “More More” in Japanese, Motto Motto is a group of made-to-order premium-casual restaurants brought to life by William Liu, the owner of Brisbane-based Sono – Australia’s most awarded Japanese restaurant.
Featuring a mix of traditional and modern Japanese or Japanese-inspired dishes, Motto Motto is unique in blending innovation and tradition together to bring fine dining ingredients and quality to the world of fast, casual dining.
Chief operating officer Matt Fickling said their extensive menu of Japanese fare includes flavour packed ramen, comforting rice bowls, fried chicken, and iconic Japanese curry.
The business scheduled a soft opening date for July 2, allowing a few days of fine tuning before an expected stampede of diners arrived on Saturday, July 6 for the $1 signature classic ramen celebration, which kicks off from 11am.
Rising prices at the petrol pump, and a growing movement towards convenient, environmentally sustainable transport is driving the uptake of cutting-edge personal transportation devices like electric scooters and e-bikes.
To capitalise on this trend, new Townsville business Segway-Ninebot opened next to the Coffee Club in Castletown Shopping Centre in April, causing shoppers to double-take at its diverse selection of electric vehicles at accessible price points.
Store owner Kim Tran said she saw the rise in the scooter market, and believed that locals could greatly benefit from an alternative way of commuting.
“We are an authorised reseller for Segway-Ninebot and Roborock. Segway-Ninebot is a leading provider of electric scooters, electric bikes, and innovative personal mobility solutions. Roborock is a leading brand in smart home robotics, specialising in robot vacuum cleaners and mops.” Ms Tran said.
Segway-Ninebot scooters are becoming more popular as the technology has evolved to increase their speed and range.
The long-vacant commercial building next to the Bluewater Bridge has begun a new chapter as a diner, becoming a hit with local residents and weary Bruce Highway travellers in need of a recharge.
Bluewater Diner was opened in mid-February by husband and wife team Emily and Rowan Struckel, who purchased the building after moving back to Townsville to be closer to family.
With seven years experience running a roadhouse, Ms Struckle was ready to put her skills to work reviving the building which had stood empty for 13 years.
Employing 15 staff, many of whom are nearby residents and juniors, the family business operates as a cafe, restaurant, takeaway, and convenience store, with a bar planned to open by June.
“There’s nothing really out this way, and Townsville is growing north, so we’ve seen an opportunity that needed something and we wanted to fill the gap,” Ms Struckle said.
An old Townsville CBD building has been transformed to become the new home for a deli that was wiped out by the 2019 flood event.
Originally the New Zealand Insurance building after it was constructed in 1960, the building at 16 Stokes St eventually became the Bank of Queensland before it was shuttered 13 years ago.
Townsville businessman Chris Christensen snapped up the multi-level office and retail building in June 2022, regarding it as the right space to revive his deli dream, after Christo’s Deli at The Precinct in Idalia was heartbreakingly washed away by the flood.
The building’s basement has become a space for Mr Christensen’s project management company Cachet Advisory, the ground floor transformed into a new deli cafe called Papa Christo’s, while the first level, with its sprung floors, has become a function room for local group activities like training workshops, ballroom dancing, meditation, and belly dancing.
Since opening in January, the deli cafe has built a cult following for its freshly prepared foods, both with visitors and CBD workers, who often return several times a week.
As rising cost-of-living pressures prompt shoppers to seek out outlet and discount style-retailers to stretch their budgets without compromising on fashion and quality, a new Townsville clothing store has begun offering hip-pocket relief.
Throwing open its doors in March in the former-City Beach space at Castletown Shoppingworld, Laundrie Big Brand Outlet (BBO) is the first venture to open outside of Victoria.
Drawing products from 80 stores, with renowned brands like All About Eve and Elm, Silent Theory, St. Goliath, Elm, Foxwood, Eve Girl, Animal Crackers, this outlet-style retailer offers an extensive range of women’s, men’s, children’s clothing, and footwear.
Laundrie BBO owner Aaron Pritchard was looking forward to helping the community through cost of living struggles.
He said they offered up to 50 per cent off the recommended retail price for their current season, on-trend products, which were backed by an easy shoppable layout and engaging staff.
To capitalise on adventurous Aussies’ growing appetites for purchasing camping trailers and caravans to holiday domestically, a Sunshine Coast business has expanded into Townsville.
Offering a range of off-road hardtop caravans and pop-top hybrid campers to explore in comfort and style, JAWA Offroad Campers have won awards for striking the right balance between affordability, quality, and lightweight mobility.
Mr Perry said they built campers and caravans tough enough to push the boundaries of off-road exploration, with the backing of quality customer service.
“We have 15 models in total, ranging from a 10ft hybrid, which is a pop top, everything pulls out the side type of arrangement … all the way up to an 18ft full caravan with dual wheels,” he said.
Finding the bulk of his customers based north of the Sunshine Coast, and many planning to drive to Cape York, Mr Perry strategically chose to expand halfway there, into Townsville at 337 Woolcock St, Garbutt.
After years of bringing North Queensland the latest and greatest fashion trends, including the present craze for resort sets, popular clothes retailer Salt 66 is expanding to capture a new market at Fairfield Central Shopping Centre.
Founded in Mount Isa in 1950, before expanding into Townsville, GEB Holdings is a multi-generational family enterprise with several iconic Townsville businesses under its umbrella including Discount Jeans, Playtime, and Salt 66.
Salt 66’s appeal can be traced back to its wide selection of clothing options, for both genders, across a broad age range – where fashion conscious women were the biggest customers. He said their best selling items were resort sets, which evolved from the pandemic pyjama lounge-wear, transformed into cotton, and then shorts with matching tops featuring Italian prints, where one side was tucked in.
Emboldened by the success they experienced with a pop-up store at Townsville Shopping Centre (formerly Stockland), along with positive feedback he’d received from other retailers, he opened a new store at Fairfield Central Shopping Centre in March.
It made sense for the founder of a Cairns based wholesale Asian food business to expand its supermarket chain into Townsville.
It was only a matter of time, according to company director Anna Kang, who wanted to take to expand the business properly, because to her, Asian food was about connecting to the culture of North Queensland.
Big Asia Supermarket opened its third store at the Willows Shopping Centre in January, providing groceries from most Asian countries including China, India, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore, and aims to bring fresh produce from the Atherton Tablelands picked and accessible to the customer within a day.
Since its opening, Ms Kang has noticed the majority of customers were Eurocentric Australian, with several seeking her advice to learn the secret recipes of their local favourite Asian restaurants.
It might have taken seven years for the popular hospitality venue Monsoons Bar & Grill to reopen, but the wait was worth it.
Following an extensive renovation and recruitment process over recent months, the doors quietly opened in late January, welcoming a new generation and nostalgic visitors who were curious to see what’s changed.
Capturing the seabreezes as it overlooks Ross Creek on Flinders St East, the venue offers chilled out vibes in a family-friendly environment with indoor and outdoor dining on a massive quarterdeck, a sports bar, lounge area, pool tables, and an automatic dart machine.
Venue manager Deacon Powell said they were experiencing a gradual rise in clientele as word spread about their opening, with visitors “absolutely loving it”.
Mr Powell said Monsoons offered a point of difference compared to other hospitality establishments by serving food in its restaurant from 11am through till 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays – long after other non-fast food restaurants had closed.
With its average of over 300 days of sunshine per year, Townsville has enticed one of Australia’s leading solar and battery providers to set up shop as part of its ambitious national expansion.
By offering innovative and efficient solar and battery solutions, Smart Energy will help Townsville residents address the urgent need to combat rising energy costs, while also meeting the increased demand for eco-friendly alternatives.
Smart Energy joint managing director Liam Navon said the company was launched in response to poor customer service and price gouging by other solar providers.
“We see in a lot of regional areas in Australia is that the local residents don’t necessarily have a whole lot of choice between different suppliers,” Mr Navon said.
“We like to see ourselves as an energy solution provider … able to set people up with solar systems and batteries, EV chargers, and we soon have plans to also start offering home energy management systems.”
A boutique Mexican restaurant has sprung up in City Lane, offering diners a unique shared dining experience, comparable to offerings found in Melbourne and Sydney’s dining districts.
Providing a “vibrant space and smoky, seductive dishes to captivate your senses”, Polola has replaced The Courtyard, which was among City Lane’s first restaurants in 2014.
Opened at 373 Flinders St on March 8, the new restaurant is owned by Matt Cause and executive chef Alex Lavery, who also own and operate Shaw & Co next door.
Mr Cause said they had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars during the five week transformation of the space, breathing life into the CBD.
Described as a “fun, bright, zesty take on modern Mexican”, Polola’s menu is heavily based around the charcoal grill with a mixture of dishes either eaten by the individual or shared on the table and eaten with tortillas, Mexican rice and sides.
Bridging the gap between fine dining and fast food, innovative burgerologists Burger Urge are spreading their wings to open a second Townsville store at Cannon Park in March.
With its mantra of “The Way Burgers Should Be”, the Brisbane-founded gourmet burger chain gets people talking and tastebuds tingling by embracing fresh and unique ingredients like alpaca, crocodile, carolina reaper chillies, gold leaf, and truffle dust.
Burger Urge chief marketing officer Peter Kilroy said the business had grown from five staff in 2007 to 750 staff in 28 stores across Australia, which serve 1.5 million burgers annually.
“We are trying to bring excitement and interest back to the burger space … it’s gotten boring to be honest, and we’re trying to bring back some fun and some interest in something unique back into burgers,” Mr Kilroy said.
“With Cannon Park, the theme is 1970s Gangs of New York, with the grittiness and the unique vibe of the times.”
He said the move to Cannon Park “just makes sense” given the number of requests from burger lovers wanting a store on the west side.
Tradies who are serious about getting their hands on the latest and greatest in tools were celebrating after the opening of a new specialty tool store.
Founded in Sydney in 2014, Tools Warehouse is an independent retailer of tools and machinery, which opened its first Queensland store on the corner of Bayswater Rd and Pilkington St in May.
Marketing itself as a “one-stop-tool-shop for tradies”, the Australian-owned business showcases the latest products and a massive range of power tools, accessories, hand tools and industrial machinery from leading brands including Makita, Milwaukee, Kincrome, and Unimig.
Tools Warehouse Director Jugi Singh said they spent close to $500,000 upgrading the building after purchasing it.
“We’ve got probably the first and only Milwaukee Experience Centre in North Queensland … that’s going to show the brand profile and a really nice display that the town hasn’t seen yet,” he said.
The Townsville store opening marks the beginning of an ambitious regional Queensland expansion, with additional stores planned for Cairns, Mackay, Rockhampton, and Emerald.
As the cost of living pressures crush household budgets, The Salvation Army has stepped up the relief effort by relocating their Townsville CBD store to a larger space.
With its fresh signage adorning the Hyde Park Centre on Woolcock St, the Salvos opened their new store on April 12.
There are four Salvos Stores in Townsville, with the new space nearly triple the size of their CBD store, allowing them to stock more products and recruit more staff and volunteers.
The store offers a wide range of discounted items, mainly clothing, for all ages and sexes, along with footwear, furniture, homewares, manchester, toys, bedding, electrical, and accessories.
Salvos Stores NQ Area Manager Madeleine McGowan said, “we sell our children’s clothing for $2, across the board, and that’s to help families keep their costs down because we know that children grow so quickly”.
The money generated by the stores supports a range of community programs targeting homelessness, domestic violence, financial counselling, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and emergency relief during natural disasters.
Choice The Discount Store Domain Central
Also in the battle to preserve household budgets, a fast-growing Queensland retailer has stepped up to deliver more value for money by opening its second Townsville store in April.
Founded in Brisbane in 1996, Choice The Discount Store has grown to 31 stores throughout Queensland and NSW, attracting budget-conscious consumers with its variety of products including kitchenware, home and living, craft and hobbies, health and beauty, party, pet, and food.
The business is able to offer well-known branded products commonly found in supermarkets at cheap prices by sourcing them in bulk from manufacturers and wholesalers who need to clear their excess, short-dated, seasonal, or end-of-line stock.
With their first Townsville store thriving on Carthew St, next to the Willows Shopping Centre since opening two years ago, Choice The Discount Store brand manager Matt Traynor said the time was right to expand into Domain Central shopping centre to support another catchment of residents.
A month after last rites were given to Townsville’s collapsed OBJ’s Sports Bar, an unlikely resurrection took place, with the popular venue bouncing back to life in June.
Targeting NQ’s passionate sports fans, and positioned within walking distance of Queensland Country Bank Stadium, OBJ’s Sports Bar opened at 10 Fletcher St in December 2021, before going into administration on April 14.
It seemed like it was game over when removalists were spotted in early May, after an unsuccessful expressions of interest campaign to find someone to take over the business.
Weeks later, surprising signage appeared around the shuttered sports bar saying OBJ’s would be back.
The building’s owner, Honeycombes Property Group and its partners, had stepped in to revive the bar in time for the State of Origin match and the NRL home game between the Cowboys and Warriors.
Honeycombes Property Group managing director Peter Honeycombe said they were motivated to step in to pay out the liquidator because the business was ready to operate, and to ensure OBJ’s staff were paid.
Closed
Fans of Brazilian cuisine were gutted after Chico Rio Townsville made the heartbreaking announcement that it was ceasing trading in May.
A host of maintenance issues in their heritage listed building were blamed as the reason behind the closure.
Chico Rio built a devoted following for its Brazilian churrasco, a type of barbecue popular in Brazil, made by skewering various types of meat such as beef, chicken, pork, lamb, and sausage, and slowly roasting them over an open flame.
Situated at 247 Flinders St, the restaurant has had a rocky journey over the past decade, with the closure marking the third time the venue had been shuttered.
Co-owner Zach Keeffe said he was proud of what they had achieved, despite their building being plagued by long-term issues including airconditioning and wiring which “built and built over the last few years”.
“We did genuinely debate whether we should move premises but we’ve got another cafe (Vitti Cafe at 3/42 Mitchell St, North Ward) that we’re going to spend our focus on,” Mr Keeffe said.
A cocktail bar in the Townsville night-life precinct is up for lease, after its owner struggled to maintain two businesses while spending time with family.
Business owner Richard Norris decided to step back from his newer bar Flinders Social, based at 175 Flinders Street in March, after becoming a father in December.
Mr Norris had spent “100 hour weeks” managing two bars, with the other being Osk in North Ward.
He decided to run one bar instead while prioritising more time with his family.
The heritage listed building was constructed in 1887 but renovated by developers Kayle Wright and Brodie Jankovic in 2022, which was supported by the council’s city activation policy.
Mr Norris took over the space that became Flinders Social last July and redesigned the bar area.
More Coverage
Originally published as Overview of Townsville businesses to open and close in the first half of 2024
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